Shopping or retail therapy is helping some Christchurch residents return to normality after the February earthquake.
A photograph of retail shops in colourful shipping containers at Re:START Mall.
A photograph of retail shops in colourful shipping containers at Re:START Mall.
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Building the Re:START container shops in Cashel Mall".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Building the Re:START container shops in Cashel Mall".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Building the Re:START container shops in Cashel Mall".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Building the Re:START container shops in Cashel Mall".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Building the Re:START container shops in Cashel Mall".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Building the Re:START container shops in Cashel Mall".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Building the Re:START container shops in Cashel Mall".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Building the Re:START container shops in Cashel Mall".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Building the Re:START container shops in Cashel Mall".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Building the Re:START container shops in Cashel Mall".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Building the Re:START container shops in Cashel Mall".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Building the Re:START container shops in Cashel Mall".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Building the Re:START container shops in Cashel Mall".
Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Cashel Mall".
Damage to retail buildings on High Street. Shops shown include Burgers & Beers, as well as boutique clothing stores Embassy and Plush. All are cordoned off for safety. A collapsed ceiling is visible through the windows above Burgers & Beers.
In the last two decades, the retail sector has experienced unprecedented upheaval, having severe implications for economic development and sustenance of traditional inner-city retail districts. In the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, this effect has been exacerbated by a series of earthquakes in 2010/2011 which destroyed much of the traditional retail precinct of the city. After extensive rebuild activity of the city’s infrastructure, the momentum of retailers returning to the inner city was initially sluggish but eventually gathered speed supported by increased international visitation. In early 2020, the return to retail normality came to an abrupt halt after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study uses spending and transaction data to analyze the compounding impact of the earthquake’s aftermath, shift to online shopping, and the retail disruption in the Christchurch central retail precinct because of COVID-19. The findings illustrate how consumers through their spending respond to different types of external shocks, altering their consumption patterns and retail mode (offline and online) to cope with an ever-changing retail landscape. Each event triggers different spending patterns that have some similarities but also stark differences, having implications for a sustainable and resilient retail industry in Christchurch. Implications for urban retail precinct development are also discussed.
The Christchurch suburb of Sydenham was badly affected by the first earthquake in September and February's quake has struck another blow to the local retail sector. But as Katy Gosset has found, shop owners say they're confident they can rebuild.
Colourful containers in Re:Start Mall.
A digitally manipulated image of people in Re:Start Mall. The photographer comments, "In Christchurch there is a temporary mall that is made out of shipping containers. The containers painted in nice bright colours, colourful shade sails and various advertisements give the place a very merry feel".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Brett Wells, retail operations director of the Rock Shop, behind the curtain that separates the back of the shop, which they can trade from, and the front (behind Brett) that only staff can enter, after earthquake damage".
A photograph of the exterior of the Village Grape, a wine shop constructed in a shipping container in Sumner.
A video of people shopping on the opening day of Re:Start Mall. Re:Start Mall is a container mall set up in Cashel Street after the 22 February 2011 earthquake. It is made up of shipping-container shops, with the Ballantynes Department Store reopening as a retail anchor.
The title reads 'Shipping container shopping for Merivale?.. The cartoon shows a row of shops that have been created from containers. An oil slick seeps from one of them. Someone in 'Chez Merivale' says 'Nice idea darling. But did they have to use the Rena's containers?' Context: Refers to the container ship 'Rena' which is grounded on the Astrolabe Reef off the Bay of Plenty and threatens to become a disaster of huge proportions as oil spews into the sea. Modified shipping containers have been put in place in the suburb of Merivale to replace broken shops. Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).
An aerial photograph of the Re:Start mall.
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Jonathan Connolly, co-owner of Angus Meats, has won a bevy of awards for their sausages, but they no longer have a retail outlet after their shop was ruined by the September earthquake".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Jonathan Connolly, co-owner of Angus Meats, has won a bevy of awards for their sausages, but they no longer have a retail outlet after their shop was ruined by the September earthquake".
Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Jonathan Connolly, co-owner of Angus Meats, has won a bevy of awards for their sausages, but they no longer have a retail outlet after their shop was ruined by the September earthquake".